From the top menu bar, open Applications.

Then, choose your desired application.

Next, click Workflow/Tools.

Select Backup/Restore.

Navigate to Backup.

Next, click Take Backup Now to initiate the backup process.

The backup processing time depends on the size of the application files and the database. You will be notified once the process is completed.

You will also see the Last Backup Date, which can be used to verify that the on-demand application backup is successfully created. The last backup date will also get updated when a scheduled application backup is taken.

New Server

Existing Server

From the top menu bar, open Servers.

If this is your first time launching a server, you will click Launch to launch your first server.

If this is not your first time launching a server, click Add Server.

First, select your desired application from our vast pool of applications. In this example, we have selected WordPress.

Type the name of your app. In this example: Test 2, you can name anything you want.

Type the name of your server. In this example: Test 2, you can name anything you want.

Select your project. You may have created a project already after registering on Cloudways; you can choose that or create a new project.

Now, you can pick one of the following cloud providers. We have chosen DigitalOcean in this example. If you need help with choosing the Cloud provider, then click here.

Select server size as per your requirements. You can view the details of the server by hovering over each size.

Select your desired server location from the drop-down menu. In this example, London is selected, as shown below.

From the top menu bar, open Servers.

Select the desired server on which you want to install the new application.

Now, click on the Grid icon located in the bottom right corner of the screen and then select Add App.

Select your desired application from the drop-down list.

Type the name of your app. In this example: Test 1, you can name anything you want.

Select your project. You may have created a project already after registering on Cloudways; you can choose that or create a new one.

Click on the Add Application button once done.

If you see any warning about package up-gradation of PHP or MySQL/MariaDB because of the application requirement, follow this guide.

Your high-speed application will be ready in a few minutes, and you will get a notification once the application is successfully launched.

Visit your WordPress admin panel and Log In with your credentials.

Select Plugins.

Click Add New.

Next, search for Cloudways WordPress Migrator Plugin.

Click Install Now.

Once the plugin is installed, click Activate.

Next, a migration wizard will appear where you can start inputting the information to kickstart the migration process, as shown in the next step.

Suppose you clicked Activate but did not start adding information to the migration wizard, which is displayed immediately. In that case, you can locate the migration wizard again by selecting Cloudways Migrate from the sidebar in your WordPress admin panel.

Enter your email address.

Next, agree to the terms & conditions and privacy policy.

Click Migrate.

Here, you need to enter the following information in the form to initiate the migration:

Next, choose your Platform: Cloudways Flexible

Enter your Destination Site URL. This is the URL of the application that you launched on Cloudways Flexible in the earlier step.

Enter your SFTP Host/Server Address. This is your Cloudways server’s IP address.

Enter your Database Name.

Tip:

You can review this section to get application information.

Next, enter your SFTP Username. Your SFTP username is your Master username.

Enter your SFTP Password. This is your master user’s password.

Under “HTTP Auth enabled?”, select No as we have not set up any password to visit the Cloudways-hosted application. If your Cloudways-hosted site is restricted and password-protected, select Yes and enter the username and password.

Under “Any root directories you want to migrate?”, select Yes if you also want to migrate your custom non-WordPress directories present in the public_html directory. Otherwise, select No if you don’t wish to migrate your custom directories.

Under "Migrate additional database tables," select Yes if you also want to migrate any additional database tables and mark them; otherwise, select No.

Under “Is this site protected?”, select No if your current WordPress website on another host is not restricted and is not password-protected. If password-protected, select Yes and enter the username and password.

Finally, click Migrate.

Tip:

You can review this section to get SFTP-related information.

From the top menu bar, open Servers.

Next, choose the server where your desired application is deployed.

Click www.

Next, choose your application name.

Under Application Management, select Domain Management.

Next, click Add Domain.

Now, add your domain. You can add a root domain, e.g., cloudways.icu or a subdomain, e.g., support.cloudways.icu. Alternatively, you can add a WildCard domain, e.g., *.cloudways.icu, which covers all the subdomains simultaneously instead of adding each domain individually.

Once done, click Add Domain.

Tip

Adding a root domain, e.g., cloudways.icu, will automatically cover the domain with a www alias.

If you have any additional domains associated with the same application, e.g., cloudways.co.uk or app.cloudways.icu, you can add them here by clicking Add Domain. These additional domains will be added as an alias.

Next, you need to make one of your domains a primary domain. Then, all the other domains will be added as an alias. You can learn about the differences between primary and alias domains.

You navigate to your desired domain and click ⋮ More Options. Next, select Make Primary to make your domain a primary domain.

Next, click Set as Primary to confirm the selection.

DNS Made Easy

Other DNS Registrars

First, click Add Domain.

Next, enter your domain, e.g., example.com. If you want to add multiple domains, you can click Add Domain and bulk add up to 10 domains.

Finally, click Save Changes.

Once your domain is added, it will appear as 'Inactive'. Now, you need to add the DNS Made Easy nameservers in your DNS registrar panel. The DNS registrar is the company from where you purchased your domain, e.g., GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc,.

Next, click Configure Nameservers.

Here, you'll find the nameservers that need to be copied and added to your DNS registrar panel. While we recommend adding all the provided nameservers, if your DNS registrar limits the number you can add, we suggest incorporating the maximum allowable nameservers.

Our domain was purchased from Namecheap, so we are adding these nameservers on Namecheap.

After adding the nameservers, you may need to wait as it takes 24-48 hours for the nameservers to propagate across the network. Once nameservers are propagated, you will see an 'Active' status against your domain.

After nameservers propagation, the next step is to manage your domain from the Cloudways Platform and add DNS records to take your website(s) live.

First, click the ⋮ (ellipsis) icon to reveal more options and click Manage Records.

Next, click Add Record.

Next, you can start adding the A records you need. First of all, select the Record Type as A record.

Now, add all the required information as per your chosen record type. You can review some sample A records given below.

Finally, click Save Changes.

Tip:

To add multiple records at once, please click Add Record.

Here are some sample A records:

Point the following A Record if you want to point a root domain (yourdomain.com) to the IP address:

Type: A
​Host/Name: @ or blank
​Value/Target: Your IP address (available in application information)
​TTL: Default or select of your choice

Point the following A Record if you want to point a domain with www (www.yourdomain.com) to the IP address:

Type: A
​Host/Name: www
​Value/Target: Your IP address (available in application information)
​TTL: Default or select of your choice

Point the following A Record if you want to point a subdomain (blog.yourdomain.com) to the IP address:

Type: A
​Host/Name: blog (any subdomain)
​Value/Target: Your IP address (available in application information)
​TTL: Default or select of your choice

Point the following A Record if you want to use a wildcard. A wildcard record acts as a catch-all record, which means that it resolves every subdomain you haven’t defined to an IP address.

Type: A
​Host/Name: *
​Value/Target: Your IP address (available in application information)
​TTL: Default or select of your choice

You have learned how to add the A records. Please note that it may take 24-48 hours for the DNS records to propagate across the network.

Log in to your Domain Registrar Panel.

Select your target domain and visit the DNS management section.

Create your new A records here. We have given some sample A records below for your help:

Point the following A Record if you want to point a root domain (yourdomain.com) to the IP address:

Type: A
​Host/Name: @ or blank
​Value/Target: Your IP address (available in application information)
​TTL: Automatic/Default or select of your choice

Point the following A Record if you want to point a domain with www (www.yourdomain.com) to the IP address:
​

Type: A
​Host/Name: www
​Value/Target: Your IP address (available in application information)
​TTL: Automatic/Default or select of your choice

Point the following A Record if you want to point a subdomain (blog.yourdomain.com) to the IP address:

Type: A
​Host/Name: blog (any subdomain)
​Value/Target: Your IP address (available in application information)
​TTL: Automatic/Default or select of your choice

Point the following A Record if you want to use a wildcard. A wildcard record acts as a catch-all record, which means that it resolves every subdomain you haven’t defined to an IP address.

Type: A
​Host/Name: *
​Value/Target: Your IP address (available in application information)
​TTL: Automatic/Default or select of your choice

Make sure to save all the changes. Once you have added or updated the DNS records, it may take up to 24 hours for your changes to be effective across the internet.